Diary of a Weather Maven

On this fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, thought I'd add something from my archives, previously published on www.ourecho.com.

August 23, 2005
There’s another storm showing up in the Bahamas today. 35-mile-per-hour winds, named Tropical Depression # 12. They say it’s the result of an interaction of a tropical wave and the remains of Tropical Depression #10.

August 24, 2005
TD #12 has been named an official tropical storm, winds 40-miles-per-hour. The Hurricane Center has named it Katrina, making it this year’s 11th named storm. It continues to move toward Florida.

August 25, 2005
This morning, Katrina went from a tropical storm to a hurricane in 24 hours, reaching hurricane force only 2 hours before making landfall between Aventura and Hallandale Beach, Florida. It weakened over land, but regained hurricane status about an hour after entering the Gulf of Mexico.

August 26, 2005
Katrina is rapidly intensifying now that it’s in the Gulf and moving over warm waters.

August 27, 2005
This bugger has reached Category 3 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. It’s this year’s 5th hurricane, and 3rd major hurricane. Here’s a curiosity, described by NOAA: “an eyewall replacement cycle disrupted the intensification, but caused the storm to nearly double in size.” I’m not sure what that means but it’s likely bad news for somebody.

August 28, 2005
Katrina has intensified again--Category 5 status this morning, reaching peak strength at 1:00 p.m. CDT, maximum sustained winds of 175 mph, minimum central pressure of 902 mbar. It’s churning out there in the Gulf, the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record (so far) and the strongest hurricane the Hurricane Center has ever measured in the Gulf of Mexico. Up to now, at least! Voluntary and mandatory evacuations have been issued for large areas of southeast Louisiana and coastal Mississippi and Alabama. It appears to be headed right for Louisiana. The TV news is zeroing in on the potential catastrophe for New Orleans, because 80% of the city and 20% of the NO metropolitan area is below sea level along Lake Pontchartrain. Storm surge is forecast to be 28 feet, and officials fear it could go over the tops of the levees. I’m praying for New Orleans.

August 29, 2005
The good news is that Katrina made its 2nd landfall as “merely” a Cat. 3 today, with sustained winds of 125 mph, at 11:25 p.m. CDT near Buras-Triumph, Louisiana. The bad news is that at landfall, hurricane-force winds are extending out for 120 miles from the center, with 920 mbar central pressure. Hitting just east of New Orleans, maybe N.O. dodged the bullet? And next, oh my God, this Holy Terror is making its 3rd landfall near the Louisiana/Mississippi border, still a Cat 3, 120 mph sustained winds. Praying for everyone from Louisiana to Florida.

August 30, 2005, Early Morning
Oh no. Oh no. New Orlean’s levees have breeched. The heavy winds and storm surges have caused Lake Pontchatrain to overrun the levees along there, and the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MR-GO) breached its levees in approximately 20 places. Much of east New Orleans, most of Saint Bernard parish, and the East Bank of Plaquemines Parish are flooded. The major levee breaches in the city include breaches at the 17th Street Canal levee, the London Avenue Canal, and the wide, navigable Industrial Canal, which leaves about 80% of the city under water. Most major roads in and out of the city are damaged. The I-10 Span Bridge, eastbound towards Slidell, LA, has collapsed. It’s chaos. It’s terrible.

Days Later
I can’t watch TV anymore. I can’t write anymore. I can’t bear it. New Orleans is a sea of toxic soup, with dead bodies floating, ruptured sewage lines spewing. It’s a dying city. People are waiting for someone to come get them off their roofs. They wave at media helicopters flying over. But no one comes to get them. Why . . . can’t . . . someone . . . come?

Crying Days

Looking Back
Katrina maintained Cat 1 force well into Mississippi, but finally lost hurricane strength more than 150 miles inland near Jackson, Mississippi. It was downgraded to a tropical depression near Clarksville, Tennessee, with its last distinguishable remnants in the eastern Great Lakes region on August 31. The resulting extratropical storm moved rapidly to the northeast and affected Ontario and Quebec. Total loss of life from Katrina is listed at 1,836. Total monetary damages is estimated at $81.2 Billion, the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history. It affected the Bahamas, South Florida, Cuba, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida Panhandle, and most of eastern North America.

The name Katrina is removed from possible usage in the future.